Tehran, Jan 22, IRNA - Iran is one of the leading world countries that has been pursuing its interests through the United Nations&#39; Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), an official said on Tuesday.

'Iran has much to say about the fact that it has sought its interests via this cultural organization and that this is a solid point for the country,' said Hojatollah Ayoubi, acting secretary of the Iranian National Commission for UNESCO.

The official, who was speaking at a ceremony to open its center in the central city of Yazd, stressed that US and Israeli withdrawal from the international organization shows UNESCO couldn't meet their demands and this shows 'UNESCO's good work'. He called Yazd the first clay city in the world that's been registered as one of UNESCO's heritage sites.

He praised Iran's historical cities, saying Tehran can't compete with the neighbouring countries that are building skyscrapers, but they can't build historical cities because 'it needs history'.

Ayoubi added that one of UNESCO's featured tasks is to highlight countries' strong spots to the world.

Tehran, Sept 15, IRNA – United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his message on International Day of Democracy, 15 September 2019, urged all governments to respect the right to active, substantive and meaningful participation.

Tehran, Sept 15, IRNA – Iran's President Hassan Rouhani sent a message to his Nicaraguan counterpart to José Daniel Ortega Saavedra to congratulate his country's Independence Day to the Nicaraguan people and government.

Mashhad, Sept 15, IRNA – Minister of Interior Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli said that John Bolton’s sacking by US President Donald Trump showed that the hardliners in the US failed to push forward their policies against Iran.